In this new series, I’ll personally answer some common questions that pop up in my inbox or questions that clients commonly ask. Recently, I’ve gotten a few emails as well as in person consultations asking the question “Do I need to learn Korean?” or “Should I learn Korean to meet Korean women?”
The answer isn’t a simple yes or no so let’s delve into it.
First of all, if you currently reside in Korea or plan to move here, investing 30-60 minutes a day of effort in order to learn Korean is a good investment of your time. When you learn another language you acquire a new lens of seeing reality embedded with unique cultural concepts, ways of seeing the world and society, and an array of other emotional modes of conveying yourself. If you truly wish to understand a culture, it’s people, and their collective mindset then learning the language is essential. When it comes to dating, understanding a girls mind and emotions and how she sees herself in the larger content of her country’s society or cultural context is important for developing a stronger connection. Showing that you understand her and her world is much stronger than any sort of interview question you can ask her. You can also take the pressure off her by communicating in Korean. Many Korean girls feel nervous about communicating in English for fear of making a mistake, or perhaps their level of English isn’t fluent enough for a conversation. You can also show she has a place in your life as “you’re helping me to learn new Korean expressions.” Not only are you able to learn Korean while texting and dating but you are also giving her a sense of accomplishment. You can also show empathy towards her English by speaking slower, clearer, and empathizing with her situation as it is very similar with yours.
If you reside in Korea then just like any other country, knowing the language opens up so many doors and makes life easier. You can do things on your own such as paying bills, finding a house without getting ripped off by “English real estate agents,” make local friends and learn from them, and complete any daily task without being the helpless 외국인 . You are a man now and showing you take responsibility for yourself rather than depending on others (which you never really can) sub communicates that you’re a man who gets things done and have moved on past the stage of life of dependency of the childhood days to self-reliant adulthood, or at least you’re moving in that direction.
With all of the above in mind, learning Korean isn’t absolutely necessary to a successful dating life here or with Korean girls in general. In Seoul, the level of English is surprisingly high among college students, office ladies, and people in general. Koreans study English from Elementary school to University and also attend 학원 (language academies) for Toeic, Toefl, and English conversation. Not to mention, a lot of young people study abroad or go for a working holiday in an English speaking country to improve their fluency. Getting into any major company or good university requires a degree of English proficiency. Outside of Seoul the English level drastically diminishes and can resemble cities in China or Japan where a fluent English speaker is somewhat hard to come by. Many of my friends and clients enjoy an abundant dating life with a wide variety of Korean women using only English. Some even chose to make language parties, foreign pubs, and girls who have lived abroad their main staple. That being said, learning Korean you will cast a much wider net since you are able to communicate to all demographics and as many people have found around the world, a lot of the top tier stunners never have incentive to learn English and don’t speak a lick of it. While some of them do actually speak it, you might have to approach 10 to find 1 or 2, meaning it’s not as efficient. Many who work in fashion, make-up/hair, night hostessing, or modeling can’t be bothered to put effort into English since they put so much effort into their appearance.
Taking everything into consideration, 30 minutes less youtube/web surfing/sleep and devoting it to language study is a useful endeavor. However, don’t make it an excuse not to start on the path to game because the language is an extra toolkit to game, not as powerful as game itself.
